On the homepage
Health care
Out There
Crimefighting
Mental health
New Doubletree up for sale
The ownership structure of the Hotel Minneapolis, one of several to open in the next several weeks, is likely to change.
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
Minnesota business by the numbers
See Minnesota's top earning companies, CEOs and non-profits
Related Content
More from Business
The Twin Cities-based development partners in one of downtown Minneapolis' newest hotels are looking for more investors -- or possibly a buyer.
The Hotel Minneapolis, set to open Aug. 8 in the former Midland Bank Building, has hired HREC Investment Advisors to market a majority or total equity interest in the property, according to an HREC offering circular.
Hempel Properties of Maple Grove and St. Paul-based Morrissey Hospitality Co. are developing the 222-room hotel. It will carry the Doubletree brand, which is part of the Hilton Hotel network. Morrissey, which also operates the St. Paul Hotel and its destination grill, is a minority partner in the development and will manage the new hotel and its restaurant.
Built in 1905, the 10-story building at 401 2nd Av. S. served as a bank and office property until the developers bought it for about $11.2 million late in 2006. They initially planned to build a 35-story condominium tower next the hotel but dropped that part of the project because of the downturn in the condo market. The hotel project cost $60.5 million, according to the HREC circular.
Hempel spokeswoman Valerie Doleman said last week that the developers' desire to secure institutional investors has been part of their long-term plans.
The Hotel Minneapolis is the second downtown property controlled by Hempel being marketed to investors by HREC. The New York-based real estate advisory and brokerage's website also lists the Soo Line Building at 501 Marquette Av. S. According to that listing, Hempel is willing to sell part or all of that office building, which may also be redeveloped to include a hotel. Doleman said Hempel is working with Hilton to secure another of its brands, Hampton Inn, for that property.
A sweet deal
A four-story building at 900 N. 3rd St. in Minneapolis that once housed manufacturing operations for two confectioners -- Fanny Farmer and Gurley Candies -- is the latest property in the city's Warehouse District to change hands.
FTK Properties Inc., an entity of architecture and interior design firm Walsh Bishop Associates, recently bought the building for $2.2 million. The property had been listed earlier this year at $3.2 million by the Twin Cities office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker.
The building had been owned by Jack and Jane Buxell, who paid $565,951 for the property in 2000, according to Hennepin County property records. Their architecture firm has occupied the ground floor, while a mini-storage business is on the second and third floors. The fourth floor is vacant.
Walsh Bishop plans to renovate the building and change the tenant mix, according to CEO Dennis Walsh. His firm will move into the third and fourth floors, relocating from the Oracle Building at 900 2nd Av. S.
Walsh said he may look for a restaurant as a tenant for the first floor and rent offices on the second floor to other creative services business, which have flocked to the Warehouse District in recent years.
Susan Feyder • 612-673-1723
Recent Business stories
Comments are temporarily unavailable
Our reader comments feature is currently undergoing maintenance. Please check back to comment on this story and join the discussion. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Blog: Patent Pending
Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.
Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.